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He served as a captain of both the San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills, earning the AFL Most Valuable Player award in 1965 after leading the Bills to a second consecutive championship.
Checkout the latest stats for Jack Kemp. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, college, draft, and more on Pro-football-reference.com.
- July 13, 1935
- Growing Up in Los Angeles
- Playing at Occidental
- Kemp Nearly Quits Football
- The AFL Gives Kemp A Shot
- Kemp Leads The Chargers
- San Diego Accidentally Gives Away Kemp
- Kemp Leads Buffalo to A Championship
- Kemp and Teammates Boycott The 1965 All-Star Game
- Championship Repeat
- Kemp and The Bills Just Miss Super Bowl I
Jack French Kemp was born on July 13, 1935, in Los Angeles. He was raised by parents who were both intelligent and entrepreneurial. Kemp’s father, Paul, started a trucking service from scratch, and after starting the company with one truck, soon had 14 in service. His mother, Frances, taught Spanish and worked as a social worker. During high school...
When he graduated from Fairfax High, Kemp was a mere 5’10”, 175-pound athlete who wanted to keep playing football. He realized that his size might work against him as a quarterback at larger institutions such as USC and UCLA. So, Kemp matriculated at Occidental College, a Division III school located in LA. Kemp chose the school because he liked the...
Although Kemp played at a small college, he still attracted attention from NFL scouts. With the 203rd overall pick in the 17th round of the 1957 NFL Draft, Kemp was selected by the Detroit Lions. Just before the season began, the Lions cut him. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Kemp for the rest of the year, though he rarely saw the field and had all ...
Thankfully, the American Football League was founded at the same time Kemp was ready to give up. The fledgling league needed warm bodies, preferably with pro experience. Kemp had just what the new Los Angeles Chargers and head coach Sid Gillman were looking for. He was signed by the club before its 1960 inaugural season.
Gillman’s penchant to throw the pigskin down the field was right up Kemp’s alley. He became the Chargers’ starter in 1960 and promptly showed his former NFL employers that they made a mistake. That season, Kemp passed for 3,018 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions, and also rushed for 238 yards and eight scores. LA went 10-4 and faced the Hou...
Two games into the 1962 season, Kemp had passed for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions before breaking one of his fingers. Since Kemp’s injury would keep him out for a few months, Gillman thought he would be clever and stash Kemp on the waiver wire list as he healed. That idea backfired horribly when the Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos,...
It didn’t take long before the Bills’ fans and players understood what Kemp brought to the organization. In his first full season with the franchise, Kemp passed for 2,910 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 20 picks as the Bills went 7-6-1 in 1963. He also rushed for a career-high 239 yards along with eight rushing touchdowns. In the Divisional Playoffs, Bu...
Kemp and Gilchrist were both invited to the 1965 AFL All-Star game in New Orleans that was held a couple of weeks after the title game. Before the game, a number of black players were treated poorly by cab drivers and restaurant owners in the New Orleans area. Disgusted by how they were treated, all 21 black players who represented both the East an...
Before the 1965 season, Gilchrist was traded to the Broncos. The Bills suffered without him but still managed a 10-3-1 record that year. Without a solid running game, Buffalo relied more on Kemp and he delivered. He was second in the AFL in completions with 179 and also had 2,368 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions. Kemp’s leadership...
After the AFL Championship game, Bills head coach Lou Saban left to coach in the college ranks and new coach Joe Collier took over in 1966. That season, Buffalo went 9-4-1 and Kemp passed for 2,451 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 16 picks. The ‘66 season was special as the top seeds in each conference would play each other in the AFL Championship game fo...
Kemp, who played with the AFL Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers from 1960-62, came to the Buffalo Bills via waivers from San Diego. All Kemp did for Buffalo from 1962-69 was propel the Bills among the elite in AFL, a league that would merge with the NFL in 1970.
Jack Kemp, Quarterback #15 (1984 Inductee) Played with the Bills from 1962-69...claimed off waivers from the San Diego Chargers for $100 in 1962...led the Bills to the 1964 and '65 AFL ...
May 4, 2009 · And we're talking about someone who led the Buffalo Bills to back-to-back American Football League championships, in 1964 and 1965, and who put up some highly impressive passing...
May 3, 2009 · The Buffalo Bills are issuing the following team statement regarding the passing of Jack Kemp: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Jack Kemp. Jack remains a legendary figure...
